Carrot Top II

Gallery: AvianPosted January 10, 2012365 views23 comments

Another shot of the Red-bellied Woodpecker, with wings down..
F/11, 1/3200th, ISO 1250, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4x ext & natural light around 11:00. Clear & sunny. 85% FF. See adjusted image below.

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on January 10, 2012 at 9:56 AM

Terrific photo Howard. I love seeing a wings down position for a change. Very sharp, exposure just right, perfect composition, seed in the beak, catchlight in the eye - I can't think of one thing to make it better. The background is also wonderful. The bird stands out very nicely against the blue sky and I really like the hint of trees in the background.

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 10, 2012 at 10:38 AM

Howard: This is terrific. The full wings down position is great, background is fantastic, and to put it over the top, the seed or whatever food is in the beak! Nice and sharp. Fantastic image!

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Leekam on January 10, 2012 at 10:42 AM

Howard, these flight shots of Red-bellied must be unique (almost). To get them at all is very fortunate: to get them with a clear background is almost impossible. Envy!

Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on January 10, 2012 at 10:47 AM

Al of these RB shots are great but I think I like this one better than the previous two mainly because I like the flight pose better. I really can't find anything that I don't like about this shot. Just excellente!

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Douglas Graham on January 10, 2012 at 11:41 AM

You got it right this time.....much better then the last one with the eye closed.

Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on January 10, 2012 at 1:07 PM

Howard: I'm not a bird guy but this one did catch my eye. I think I prefer this over the earlier shot because of the open eye here and I also like the wing position.

>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 10, 2012 at 1:35 PM

A lovely wings-down shot, a great BG, and just enough wing blur to indicate motion. That puppy must have been really moving to get blur at 1/3200 sec! Excellent work!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on January 10, 2012 at 2:13 PM

Another good one !
Prefer it to the first I reckon.
JR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Schiebelbein on January 10, 2012 at 9:12 PM

Even better than the first. The repeating pattern on his fully extended wings is beautiful.

Registered on November 8, 2008, 55 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 10, 2012 at 11:43 PM

Another beauty! Great wing position,and love the seed. He/she seems quite dark to me - I'd experiement with lighting up the bird a little, especially the neck and under-wing area.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on January 11, 2012 at 12:48 AM

Wings down but thumbs up !!!
Terrific frame, nicely captured.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 11, 2012 at 12:50 AM

Great flight shot, Howard. No nits from me.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on January 11, 2012 at 3:58 AM

Another beautiful shot, Hovard ! Very, very good.

Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 11, 2012 at 11:25 AM

14% + Brightness

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on January 11, 2012 at 2:20 PM

Love the wing position!!! Might be tempted to lighten the face/body area a touch....but fantastic image!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 11, 2012 at 3:17 PM

Yes! That's what I had in mind - much better. Maybe even a touch more to the face?

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on January 11, 2012 at 5:48 PM

Really nice image. I know this took a lot of skill, as I have also tried this same technique that you described. I have yet to achieve much success, mainly because I haven't been able to keep up with the bird. Your success with this series is inspirational and I will keep at it.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on January 11, 2012 at 6:11 PM

great action shot howard, sweet detail and overall quality!!!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 11, 2012 at 6:19 PM

Really nice! Very cool looking with this wing position. Nice work Howard.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 11, 2012 at 8:18 PM

Awesome flight shot Howard. great angle and wing position and the seed in the mouth is a great plus

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on January 11, 2012 at 11:06 PM

Looks good, Howard!

I do like the brightened image a bit more.